Skincare Woes Never End in the Eternal Search for "Perfection"

This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

Just when I thought my skin was behaving well and I finally got my skincare down to a nice routine, my skin made a sudden turn and is wrecking my peace of mind! It's getting very oily but dehydrated, and my dark circles are worse.

I'm not sure what is the cause of this change. It could be stress, it could be me consuming too much sugar and caffeine due to stress, or it could be hormones (though I'm too young yet for menopause).

Whatever it may be, now I have half finished bottles of skincare that are doing nada for me. I need to go pick up some new stuff and have another round of trial and error.

How annoying, isn't it?

What about you? Do you experience this? How do you solve or deal with it?

Maybe I should learn to just buy small bottles of everything. It would end up being more economical in the long run, wouldn't it?

This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

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A Random Mid-week Post About Cupcakes & Stuffs

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ Hello. To begin this post: some cupcake porn. Chocolate cupcake, chocolate ganache glaze and whipped cream from a can, with sprinkles and such. Chocolate-chip cupcake, with honey-cream cheese frosting. Hmmm, the frosting looks abit too oily in the photo, maybe it's the honey? Son didn't like this flavour, even after adding a tonne of sprinkles, which justifies getting an electric mixer to make some buttercream frosting. ^_^ Baking, together with coffee and rice are the main barriers to my efforts to be healthier and eat more raw foods. Erm, key-word being "effort" ie. "trying". LOL. Now, for just some random talk about some beautification things, to get us over the middle of the work-week. My current favourite BB Cream is SkinFood Mushroom BB Cream. First time I bought only 1, I didn't expect to like it so much. Later, I bought doubles back from each of my trips to Korea. It costs too much here in Singapore. I'm down to just half of my last tube. I didn't expect to finish it so soon! T_T I still have alot of other base makeup to use but I have been happy with the convenience of the BB cream and neglected the rest. Maybe this is a great excuse to head to Seoul soon? Haha. I'd rather pay the air ticket, eat some nice Korean food, and shop in Seoul than buy BB Cream at Singapore SkinFood stores. (Caveat: I will only go to Seoul, not likely to venture outside Seoul again.) It has a nice texture, not too thick but good enough coverage for me, spreads evenly and easily with my fingers, great hydration but not too oily and also not too matte. Plus it's a good nice match for my skin tone. I like the smell too. Some herbal-ly, aloe-y scent. I purchased this Etude House Black Head Final Kit in Korea. I'm not sure about the price here in Singapore. Anyway, you're supposed to soak a cotton pad with the lotion and let it sit on your nose for about 10-15 minutes, so that your embedded blackheads will rise to the top and you can wipe it away. After which, you put on the pore-tightening cream. Well, forget about this set. It's pure rubbish. It did seem to make my skin smoother, which I think is the work of the pore-tightening cream, but I didn't feel any blackheads coming out of my pores. I think Etude is more for the young girls in Korea, if I'm not wrong, so sometimes I find the products are not too good for me. It might work better for the younger ladies. One of the books I'm dipping into once in a while is The New Science of Perfect Skin written by a scientist who has developed and tested products for brands like Estee Lauder and Loreal. It's a pretty good book with a nice balance of science, facts and personal opinion. Downside is that it's US/Euro-centric, with few Asian products or companies mentioned. So far, the only Japanese company discussed was Biore. Do check it out, it's published in 2008 so it's fairly current.

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Kanebo Skin Analysis and Haul (Part 1)

Last month, I was told to book an appointment on 21-22 March, because the Kanebo counter at BHG was having a special makeup and facial event. A Japanese makeup artist would be flown in specially and the Coffret Dor Spring 09 range would also be available. I didn't book an appointment but decided to go look at the new makeup yesterday. By chance, the SA told me there's a makeup and consultation spot available at 6pm, so I said ok, since it's only an hour later, and went back to the counter after hauling at Muji and having dinner. The MA was very cheerful and energetic even after working the whole day! She set a very good example for all the local SAs, who were perkier and more enthusiastic than usual. The MA did a skin analysis for me with the skin analysis machine. Why don't the local SAs use that machine at all? It makes for very objective skin check. And eeps the close ups of pores and melanin were scary! Final verdict: I have dry skin, slightly oily t-zone, lots of melanin above & below the skin, firm skin but rough due to the dryness and good elasticity. Sounds ok for my age, I think! Especially comforted to know I still have firm skin and good elasticity. LOL. She said I should address the melanin but I said I have sensitive skin and experienced allergic reactions to most whitening skincare. So, the MA recommended Blanchir range, which she said is suitable for sensitive skin, targets dryness, and addresses melanin above and below the skin. She applied the whole range on my face, as part of the consultation. I didn't get any immediate allergic reactions, which was a good sign. Plus, the son, who was with me, said he could see an immediate brightening effect! So, I bought some of the Blanchir products, because I have alot of freckles, even though I use alot of sunscreen, so I really need some products that provide whitening/brightening care. I was hoping to eventually find good products to address that issue without giving allergic reactions. So far so good, after using the Blanchir products, I have no allergic reactions and found it has a good brightening effect but the test will be best when I have no allergic reactions later. I'll let you know the final score in a few weeks' time. I went online to check and it looks like Blanchir is mostly natural ingredients. *Cross fingers* After so many words, here's a photo of my haul. Including makeup, which I'll talk about in another post. After I decided to buy, I said, "Oh no, I am spending too much?!!" And the SA said, she'll give me whatever gifts she had, then took out almost every gift available and gave them to me! Nice small bag for me to put my lunchbox! Haha. So many freebies. WOot! Including 2 Blanchir trial sets & 2 bottles of oil-based makeup remover. Good for me to try! A scarf and umbrella even! Good timing. I need another umbrella, the one I have is on the verge of spoiling. We even got to eat some special limited sakura cookies. Hahaa. I'll talk about the makeup in another post. There are few tips that the MA gave me, I thought I could share with you too in the next post. I read that Blanchir is a drugstore range in Japan. For a drugstore range it is still quite pricey, but I found the prices are comparable here (ie. not jacked up). If it works, that's the important thing. It will be still be cheaper than buying most other Japanese skincare ranges anyway. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Oh Skin, Wherefore Art Thou?

As a beauty blogger, I'm often not very precise in the way I use words, especially I probably don't use them the way a medical professional might. So, sometimes when I use the words sensitivity and allergy, I may not be accurately describing the skin condition that I'm suffering from. I've never gone for an allergy test because I have my doubts about them but maybe one day I may do it. I do have mild ezcema (diagnosed) and sensitivities (contact dermatitis also diagnosed before), very dry and easily irritated body skin, and easily irritated facial skin and scalp. Often I'm also confused about how things from the same origin or of similar make affect me in different ways. Take the Face Shop paper face mask trauma I suffered from recently, which resulted in a mild sort of contact dermatitis. I am unable to isolate exactly which ingredient affected me. Maybe it is as one comment suggested the different percentage of an ingredient that caused the reaction. As I ponder on this, I realise one strange thing: When I eat very acidic citrus fruits lemons, grapefruit or oranges, and if the juices come into contact with my face skin, eg. my chin or the corners of my mouth, I get a very bad reaction, which includes a burning/stinging sensation, and later, bumps and peeling like contact dermatitis. However, I do not get any bad reaction from citrus essential oils. Then I notice this - if my skin is over cleaned eg. I use too harsh scrubs or cleansers that strip the oil and moisture from my skin, my skin reacts to everything, even a change in the temperature (eg. going from warm exterior to aircon room or vice versa). Maybe the key is, like I mentioned to someone, I just need to keep my skin's oil, moisture and ph balance. When I get some time, I'll go visit a dermatologist, but meanwhile, I'll continue to crack my head over this mystery. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Photos: Sukin Skincare Set

This is what's keeping me up late at night, and making me rush through all my chores today (even rushing my blogging ... but I did want to tell you about this since I took pics haha). The Legend, K-drama dvd. All I want to do is sit down and watch the last 2 discs. Then I want to go out and get more K-drama to watch. So addictive! I always thought Bae Yong Joon was a little bit too sissy and never understood all the fuss about him. He's the lead actor you see on the dvd covers. But then I've never watched any of his shows, and now that I have, I can see why he's got so many fans. In fact, I've come to like his acting very much and feel he has charisma. (Maybe a new fan in the making?) One interesting thing: the Korean title of the show, sounds very close to the Chinese title. 태왕사신기 (Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi) / 太王四神記 (Tai wang shi shen ji). The pronunciations are so similar (similar meaning too). Anyway, this sort of confirms my suspicions about why Korean seems easier to "hear" and pick up - it's similar to Chinese in many ways ... perhaps with the close Chinese-Korean history, there are many borrowed words? Everytime I watch k-drama, Korean phrases and words run around in my head, almost like if I could, I would just start talking in Korean! How weird am I? Now you know. (I did try to learn Korean and Japanese but ahhh all my efforts are half-baked with nothing much to show for). Ok, this is a beauty blog, so I'll show you my $36SG Sukin skincare trial set and the $19.95SG night cream. Used them last night and this morning. Nothing spectacular in terms of promises ... in fact, it promises nothing except being gentle and soothing. But, today my skin looks like skin ... normal human skin, not scary bumpy, itchy-scratchy or red but normal even toned skin ... that seems to be normal ... hahaha ... I don't know how to explain how good this feels. To have normal human skin ... ugh. I hope this lasts. I think Jamilla and Chizu Saeki are right about not over-treating your skin. I've probably been over-treating it and it was getting upset with me. Now it's just getting a good rest. I'll give a proper review when I've used it for some time, hopefully with good reports. I have to say this is a very value-for-money brand. The 4-piece trial set contains four 125ml bottles consisting of cleanser, scrub, facial mist (like a toner) and day moisturiser. The night cream is an item from the standard-size range and is 120ml. Fuz is right, if it works, I save more money for makeup, which is a good thing in this crazy economy, isn't it? Keke. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Minimalist Skin Care

A recommended strategy for people with sensitive skin is to use products with fewer ingredients so as to limit the number of potential chemical irritants. In fact, beyond giving cortisol for ezcema conditions, doctors I saw always told me to just wash my face with Cetaphil and apply nothing else, so as to give the skin a rest when it becomes agitated and starts peeling or becomes dry and itchy. According to an article on Sensitive Skin, " Products containing less than 10 ingredients should be used. The fewer ingredients a consumer is exposed to the less the possibility of sensitisation." I've actually read this statement at several places. If as-few-ingredient-as-possible and as-natural-as-possible is the best way to go, then the geek in me would like to seek out the optimal outcome (good basic skincare) for the minimal inputs (good price). Hmmm, then, I would think I should go for as cheap as possible with as good ingredients as the brand could use. How should one such as myself make a choice about products. Step 1: Take 2 comparable products (like face wash or toner) that contain similar basic ingredients and proclaim nothing special beyond the basic functions like cleansing without stripping the skin. I would think, to make the choice between the 2, I should go for the one that has the "best" basic ingredients. So, the question is, "What is considered 'best ingredients'?" Because we are talking about sensitive skin here, I am thinking, 'best' would be ingredients that contain as few chemical additives and are in as "pure" or natural a form as possible. So, organic would be good. Natural would be good. Not a chemical product would be good. And not chemically processed would be good. Step 2: If 2 brands have equally "good ingredients" as I have defined above, then the geeky consumer like me, should go for the cheaper one. Why pay more, yes? Haha. ...... Eerrrms erggg hahaha ... actually this is me trying to rationalise why I went and bought the $36SG 4-piece Sukin trial set, instead of going the Fancl, Jurlique or Dr Hauscha route ... What do you think? I'm just trying to be logical but probably over-analysing this. I'm emotional in the way I buy things, which is why I keep trying new products even though I know it's not so good to aggravate my touchy skin. Still, I should think harder before I buy. If Sukin works, I should stick to it ... it's rather cheap. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Agitated Skin Soothed By SANA Natural Resource

Decided to just blog something quickly. Sad to report that my facial skin started becoming agitated a few weeks ago. There was the usual peeling, redness, raw sensation and bumps, which did not go away no matter what I did. And a "stretched", dry look, like the skin is very "stressed". I suspected Biotherm creams were the main culprit, although I used it without much problem for some time. I stopped using Biotherm but even my normal face wash was irritating by then. So, I looked through my stash and found a lucky draw freebie: SANA Natural Resource Trial Set (Face wash, Lotion M, Milk Lotion). I figured since it's all-natural, my skin will do better with it. After using it for a few days, indeed my skin calmed down, looks and feels smoother. Even the bumps are gone. Since I had such good results, I thought I could explore using this for the long-term. But now I have a problem trying to understand this SANA product line. Why is it called "Medicated" on all the bottles? I wonder should I even continue using it? I didn't even realise it is targetted for acne-prone skin. I checked the SANA website, and it seems only some products are for acne, not all. So why are all the products labelled "Medicated"? I wonder what to do next, after the SANA Natural Resource trial pack is used up. Overall, looks like I have to face the fact that I need to return to gentler skincare, since I find the ingredients lists are too long and difficult to read. It's hard to isolate which are likely ingredients that might cause sensitive skin reactions! I should just suck it up and return to "natural" and "preservative free" skincare like Fancl or Jurlique. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

A Quandary Of Treatments

A few years ago I purchased some spa treatments as a package (ie. I block purchased a set of treatments for a discount). At that time, I made an agreement with the hubs that he will be staying home at least twice a week to be with the son, while I go out for these treatments after work. Sometimes these treatments go on till 8-9pm and I don't get home till 9plus, so I didn't feel good leaving my son at home alone. I know there are tonnes of women who do leave their children alone at home many nights a week and the children go to bed by themselves. But I'm not one of these women. I won't do it until my son is old enough and that means when he's reached teen years, at the very least. I still feel it is important to talk to him, check in with how he is and review his day with him in person, face-to-face. Mind you, some of these other parents personally tell me with conviction that talking over the phone several times a day to check up on the child is good enough parenting. I'll reserve my comments about such parents but when they attack me for being "over protective" I will not take it lightly when I have to defend myself and my position to these people. (Yes, I'm still sore about these highly self-righteous and judgemental people). Ok now that I've made my position clear, let's get back to the spa treatments. HAHAA. So, these darn treatments, they have languished in the spa unused because since last year, my husband's work pace has picked up alot and he hasn't been able to keep to his side of the bargain. The situation doesn't look like it's going to improve either this year. This means I cannot find the time to go for the treatments. Additionally, I was increasingly cheesed off by the gradually declining standard of service at the spa. I would make an appointment but will have to wait at least half an hour before my treatments begin. This means I often arrive home late, much later than I planned. Last week, I finally took some action. I made a complaint to the spa HQ about the spa service and also requested for a refund for my unused treatments, but since it has been such a long time since I purchased the treatments, the spa said I can't get a refund but they are willing to give me alternatives. Yesterday, the spa consultant finally came back to me with some detailed breakdowns with suggested alternatives:

1. Convert existing body treatments to facial treatments
2. Convert remaining dollar value to products.

After thinking about this, I feel strongly I want to stop the treatments because I really can't afford the time to go anymore, yet I feel the products they are offering me isn't that great. I'm in such a quandary. This teaches me an important lesson. Never buy treatment packages, ever again! I still don't know what is the best way forward to solve my current problem with the spa treatments though. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Gifts with Magazines

During last month's Kinokuniya 20% discount period, I purchased a bunch of magazines, among them are the January issue of Voce and February issue of Maquia. I was too late to get the February air shipment of Voce, as it was sold out. Maybe I can get it later when it arrives this month in the sea shipment. I like the fresh, clean makeup looks on the cover girls of these 2 issues. Voce came with a Bathology sample, it says good for 1 time use, but I think there's quite a lot in the sample pack, which maybe could be used for 2 baths? I don't normally soak in baths, so I don't know, maybe I'll use this on a sponge? Haha like a shower foam? Maquia came with DHC skincare sample set, which contained a nice-sized amount of Deep Cleansing Oil, a cake of soap, a lotion and olive oil. I believe it is called the Olive Essentials Set on the DHC USA website. In the past, I saw alot of DHC sold in Taipei and Japan but I never purchased any products. I wonder why? (Lately I've been thinking of going to Taipei and Japan for shopping! Oh-oh.) I think it is a rather popular brand, isn't it? If anyone has tried it before, I'd love to hear your personal experience of this brand's products. I am quite keen to give this a try. But I have alot of skincare samples to try besides this and I don't know which to start with. And my skin has just returned to stable condition after my Kose Ultimation lotion scare last month, so I don't feel like using anything new for the moment. Perhaps when my current cleansers, lotions and creams are nearly finished, I can try using all the samples. How do you normally use your samples, so as to obtain a good evaluation of the products? © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Skincare History

While chatting with Pinky yesterday, I was reminded of why I didn't continue with Jurlique products and went on to try Fancl instead. Jurlique isn't big on whitening and among the things I want from my skin care is clarifying action. I have alot of freckles and I don't want them to turn into huge dark age spots. So, besides sunscreen, whitening or some form of clarifying is needed in the products that I use. Yesterday, I used my sample pack of Herbal Recovery Gel from Jurlique exclusively. It might be my imagination but while it soothed and sped up healing of my tender skin (that was reacting from using a wrong product), I felt my skin was lacking clarity that I would normally get after my usual skincare routine. Sigh, we women are hard to please, aren't we? Anyway this prompted me to try to recall my skincare history and my search for the perfect products: Kose & Shiseido In my teens and University days, I tried Kose and Shiseido with disastrous results (similar to recent events) that left me with scars that have never really healed and a perpetually weakened skin structure (because I listened to the well-meaning SAs and persisted in finishing up the products then buying more, with the hope that the skin will detoxify and normalise). Clarins & Jurlique Following this, I used Clarins then switched to Jurlique. While they helped my skin heal and recover from the Kose-Shiseido trauma, I felt they didn't give me skin clarity and smoother texture because they were not big on whitening. So, I went over to Fancl, besides wanting to dump Jurlique for being so expensive, I was hoping Fancl would give me what I was looking for in terms of whitening. But although Fancl is natural and less expensive, at that time, whitening was also not that big for them. The Face Shop Then when I married, we were not rich (erm we're still not rich now but comfortable enough), just bought our own place starting off with our careers, and a bit later, bringing up our child. So, with bills to pay and Fancl not giving me the results dramatic results I was looking for, I reached a point when I felt I had to give up on Fancl and find some cheaper alternatives. I think at that time, Korean skin care products starting showing up on our shores. So I went over to The Face Shop and was sold on it, becoming their regular customer. I was mighty happy with their products that combined affordability, gentle and healing natural ingredients, and sufficient clarifying action. That is, until I discovered my eye cream wasn't doing the job it was supposed to do at all (see my post on Fighting Eye Wrinkles)! At the same time, I started feeling my skin was getting more and more dehydrated. So I went off on the search for new products. I headed back for Kose and Shiseido mainly because I am abit brainwashed by the local perceptions. Among those I know and also my mom, Kose and Shiseido are thought of as being among the best for Asian skincare. I also thought my skin had matured and changed enough to be able to use them again but I thought wrong I guess. Fortunately, I can use the Kose eye products (which are still my Holy Grail for eye treatments). And Biotherm's face creams and serums are giving me the hydration I'm looking for but I have not used it long enough to decide on the clarifying and anti-aging efficacy. Rationale for Change Well then, I think this leads to the question: "OMG, why am I constantly changing products? " Polar told me to stop trying new things and give my skin a break! LOL. I am going to follow her advice. But, I do have a reason for this constant skincare search: It is probably because I am hoping for a miracle ... something that will treat my skin gently, yet give clarity and hydration, improve texture, and prevent aging, but doesn't break the bank (I still have to be the prudent wife and mother afterall). I feel I still haven't found the right type of products that gives the best balance of all these factors and criteria. So, I will continue to test and try until I find the solution ... but after my skin has recovered ofcourse. Additional Final Thoughts I was also reminded by Tine's comment in my Sensitive Skin post that contact dermatitis could happen even if one doesn't have sensitive skin, so do stop using the product if any adverse reactions happen after you use it. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Japanese Cosmetic Counter Brands: Shiseido

When I was in my early twenties, I tried Shiseido, Kose and Kanebo with disastrous results. Their brand staples made my skin peel and breakout in rashes and acne, so I avoided these skincare brands like a plague. I developed a deep-seated fear about the extra ingredients that go into these products to make them work their miracles. As time went by, I also realised I had sensitive skin. My skin reacted quickly to the environment and certain skincare or makeup products, either by turning red, getting bumpy or itchy(with peeling) . My eyes are also very easily disturbed by irritants and can get very watery and red, which was also why I stopped wearing contact lenses. Hence, later, I also tried Ettusai and Fancl skincare, which are touted for their "natural" ingredients. Ettusai wasn't that great but I stayed with Fancl for some time as its products were soothing for my skin. However, I felt it didn't "add" anything to my skin ie. they were not marketed for their visible skin improvement benefits such as anti-wrinkle and super protection, so I fell off from Fancl as I aged and started going for the cheaper but equally "natural" Korean skincare brands. I also got good results from using western brands like Origins. Lately however, I've been on a quest to investigate and rediscover skincare from Japanese counter brands like Kose, Kanebo and Shiseido, especially after I found some makeup gems from Kose and Kanebo. Overall, my skin also started getting drier from aging and especially after childbirth (I'm not sure about the childbirth connection, maybe it's a result of stress from working and raising a family? Haha!), so I thought I should look for more "powerful" skincare with more active ingredients that would aid my skin. So this past month, I've gone on "visiting trips" to various Kose, Kanebo and Shiseido counters, with the intention to see and discover, but not buy. I'd like to tell you about my experiences. Since it will be quite detailed, I'll split the reports into several posts. This first post will be about my experiences with Shiseido. Shiseido On the whole, through my reading, I was convinced Shiseido could be the brand for me, particularly the eyecream, I read good reviews about the Bio-performance range, (I've been mentioned it quite a bit on my posts), which claims to target the problems that I experience lately. But due to the higher prices and my deep-seated fear of these brands, I felt I needed to try some on my face before I plunge in to buy them. I visited 2 Shiseido counters: Tangs Vivo and Robinsons Raffles City. Shiseido Tangs Vivo At Tangs Vivo, the SA was courteous but exuded a vibe that told me she didn't seem to think I needed or maybe I couldn't afford her products. She answered my questions but kept looking about when I spoke to her. I asked her about Benefiance range and she told me I don't have enough wrinkles for it. According to her, it's a very rich and oily, not suitable for me at all. I persisted and tried to get her to tell me about the gift-with-purchase offer that was going on, and she showed it to me then said, "It's worth getting." I had to ask her why, and she told me I can get to try the Skin-Corrective Programme as 3 portions of it were included in the gift package. She didn't bother to explain to me about the other sample bottles of White Lucent skincare in the gift package. I was quite disappointed. When she recommended me Bio-performance eyecream, she didn't even bother to let me try the product from the counter samples. She also looked away from me and told me with a blunt voice, "No samples", when I asked her for some to try at home. Shiseido Robinsons Raffles City I was at the Shiseido Robinsons Raffles City counter yesterday. The SA was welcoming and friendly. However, similarly, she didn't bother to explain her products to me nor offer to let me try the counter samples. But she was sweeter when telling me there are no samples to bring home. Conclusion about Shiseido Overall, I was very disappointed with Shiseido. I had the intention to buy Bio-performance Eye Countour Cream, but there was something about my shopping experience that made me feel hesitant to purchase. Somehow, usually, I am able to pick up vibes easily but I'm not always able to pinpoint the meaning of the vibes. So in the case of Shiseido, I sensed something that told me I shouldn't plunge in to buy the products. I felt maybe the SA thought the creams were not suitable for me and were trying to hint to me I shouldn't get them. I'm not sure if I'm right. But in general, they were standoffish and uninterested. This is different from past experiences I had with Shiseido SAs at Isetan Katong and Isetan Orchard. At both these places, I went 2 years ago, the SAs were interested and engaging, even though I ended up not buying either. Well, what is it about Shiseido that stops me from buying their products? I'm not sure. I can't say it's just about price, because I've plonked down much more money on things without much thought. While I try to be prudent, sometimes I can be equally impulsive when I get a sense that something is good and I can buy it. I'll write about Kanebo and Kose in another post. © Copyright. All rights reserved.